Driving mechanism



A. 0. HUBBARD.

DRIVING MECHANISM- APPLICATION FILED MAYIS, 1917.

1,364,633, Patented Jan. 4, 192,1.

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DRIVING MECHANISM. KPPLICATION FILED llAYlfi. 1911.

1,364.633, mm Jan. -1921...

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DRIVING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

Application filed May 15, 1917. Serial No. 168,852.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR O. HUBBARD, a citizen of the United States, resident of Minneapolis, county of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide improved means for mounting a wringer on a washing machine with a view of simplifying the number and construction of the parts required for supporting the wringer and permitting it to swing horizontally on a vertical axis toward or from the top of the machine. Nringers have been mounted heretofore to swing on a vertical axis, but the mechanism has been more or less complicated and inconvenient to manipulate and I have sought in this machine to reduce the number of parts required, improve the construction from a mechanical standpoint, and make the attachment lighter and more convenient to operate.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming partof this specification,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a washing machine, showing my improved wringer attachment mounted thereon,

Fig. 2 is a sectionalview taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, showing the wringersupporting bracket mounted on the side of the tub, on the line 3'3 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the drive-shifting mechanism,

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view, showing how the wringer may be swung through an arc of 180 degrees to position it opposite the difierent tubs or clothes'basket, if preferred.

In the drawing, 2 represents the frame of the washing machine, 3 a tub mounted thereon, and 4 a yoke with which 'the clothes pounder is connected in any suitable way. 5 is a source of motive power, having a driving connection 6 with a pitman 7 through which the yoke 4 is operated in substantially the manner shown and descrlbed in my pending application, Serial No. 156,319, filed March 21, 1917.

8 is a bracket secured by bolts 9 to the wall of the tub. 10 is an upright rod, havmg a, horizontal portion 11 whereon the wr nger 12 is secured by suitable clamps 13. This wringer is of ordinary construction and I make no claim to it herein. The vertical portion of this rod is mounted to rotate in a plate 14 projecting from. the bracket 8, said plate being provided with a serles of peripheral notches 15 adapted to receive a locking lever 16 that is pivoted on a hub 17 mounted on the rod 10 and held in place by a set screw 18 fitting within a. key-seat 19 in the surface of said rod. This key-seat allows the hub 17 to be adjusted to accommodate itself to the vertical movement of the rod in'its bearing and the raising and lowering of the wringer. A spring 20 normally holds the lever 16 in its looking position and a rod 21 is connected with the upper end of said lever and extends under the wringer and is provided with a handle 22 by means of which a person at the opposite end of the wringer can release the lever 16 and swing the wringer on its vertical axis.

The lower endof the rod 10 has a bearing in the casting or housing 23, which rotates on a plate 24 that is mounted on the platform 2 of the washing machine frame, and said rod has a key-seat 25 to receive a set screw 26 which locks the casting and rod together for simultaneous movement. A sleeve 27 is preferably provided on the rod 10 between the plate 14 and the nut 27- on the casting 23. A shaft 28 is journaled in the casting 23 and provided with a gear 29 which meshes with a similar gear 30 on a shaft 31 which projects up through the plate 24 and abuts the lower end of the rod 10. The gear 29 is planetary in action, revolving around the gear on the upperend of the shaft 31.

A sprocket wheel 32 is secured to the gear 29 and a drive belt 33 runs from this sprocket to the sprocket 34- of one of the wringer rolls. A suitable guard 35 is provided for this drive chain. The casting 23 being mounted to revolve on the supporting plate 24, it is evidentthat when the wringer is swung on the Vertical rod 10 as an axis that the casting will revolve with it and will carry the shaft 28 and the gear 29, so that in whatever position the wringer may be adjusted, the drive belt 33 will be in its proper position for transmitting power to the wringer rolls. The lower end of the shaft 31 has a coupling 36 connecting it with a shaft 37 on which a beveled gear 38 is loosely mounted within a suitable casing 39. A similar gear 40 is mounted in the lower portion of the casing 39. Between these gears a clutch 41 is splined on the shaft 37 having means for locking either of the gears 38 or 40 on said shaft for driving the shaft 3'? forward or backward, as may be desired. A driving gear 42 is mounted to mesh with both of the gears 38 and 40 and is mounted on a driven shaft 43, driven through a suitable sprocket chain 44 from the source of motive power.

The clutch member 41 has a recess 45 therein to receive a clutch arm 46 mounted on a slide 47 which is movable vertically in the casing 39 and a rod 48 connects the said slide with a cam lever 49 which is pivoted at 50 and carries a pin 51 that is movable between stops 52 of an upright standard The rocking of this lever back and forth on its pivot raises or lowers the slide 47 to temporarily lock either the gears 38 and 40 or adjust the slide with both gears into a neutral position. A spring latch device 54 is preferably provided, having one end for engagement with notches 55 provided on the lever 49, one notch indicating the raised position of the slide and the other the lowered position, while the intermediate notch is for the intermediate or neutral position of the slide. The operator, by grasping the lever, can easily and quickly set it in any desired position for driving the wringer rolls forward or backward or allowing them to be stationary.

I prefer also to provide a rod 56 mounted at its upper end in the projecting portion of the bracket and having a hook 57 at its lower end for engagement with the plate 24. This is for the purpose of holding these parts against separation in the operation of the machine or the adjustment of the wringer.

The operation of the device is as follows: The wringer being in the position illustrated in Fig. 1, if the operator desires to swing it way from the washing machine tub he will rock the lever 16, disengage it from the notch 15, and thereupon the wringer with the rod 10 may be swung through an arc of 180 degrees, or half a revolution, and may be adjusted in position opposite another tub or a clothes basket or, as indicated in Fig. 6, it may be swung through an arc of 90 degrees and then locked. At such time the driving mechanism may be in its neutral position, while the driving belt 33 and the gears connected therewith will swing with the rod 10 so that, regardless of the position of the wringer, the driving belt 33 will always be in position to properly transmit power from the shaft 31 to the wringer rolls. When it is desired to take up slack in the belt 33, the set screws 18 and 25 are loosened and by turning the nut 27 the rod 10 is raised sufficiently in its bearings 14 and 23 and the set screws are again tightened to clamp the castings 17 and 23 to the rod 10.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with a support, of an upright driven shaft mounted thereon, a housing mounted for rotation with respect to said shaft, a sprocket wheel mounted in said housing and having a planetary gearing connection with said driven shaft for rotation with said housing around said shaft, an upright rod mounted in said housing and having a horizontal upper portion, a mechanism mounted on said horizontal upper portion, and a belt connecting the sprocket wheel of said housing with said mechanism, said belt following said mechanism through its arc of adjustment toward or from said support.

2. The combination, with a support, of a driven shaft journaled thereon and pro vided with a beveled gear, a housing on circling said gear and mounted for rotation, a rod having its lower end mounted in said housing and provided at its upper end with a horizontal extension, a mechanism mounted on said extension, and a drive belt for said mechanism having a planetary driving connection with the gear of said driven shaft in said housing to revolve with said housing around said gear and follow the rotary movement of said rod and mechanism.

3. The combination, with a support, of a plate mounted thereon, an upright shaft journaled in said plate, a housing mounted for rotation on said plate, a rod supported in said housing in line with said shaft and having a horizontal extension, a mechanism mounted on said horizontal extension, and a belt for said mechanism having a driving connection with said driven shaft through said housing, said rod and mechanism and belt revolving on said plate with said housing for operating said mechanism in its different horizontal adjustments.

4. The combination, with a support, of a driven shaft mounted thereon, a housing mounted to revolve on said support, an upright rod having a horizontal extension and a mechanism mounted thereon, said rod being mounted for vertical adjustment in said housing, and a driving belt for said mechanism geared tosaid driven shaft through said housing, the vertical adjustment of said rod raising or lowering said mechanism to slacken or tighten said belt.

5. The combination, with a support, of a driven shaft having a bearing on said support, a bracket mounted on said support and projecting outwardly therefrom, a housing mounted on said support for rotation thereon, a rod having bearings in said housing and said bracket and provided with a horizontal extension and a mechanism mounted thereon, a driving belt for said mechanism having a driving connection with said driven shaft, a disk secured on said rod and having a notched periphery and a locking device mounted on said bracket and having means for entering the notches in said disk for looking it and said rod and mechanism in their horizontal adjustments.

6. The combination, with a support, of a bracket secured to support and projecting outwardly therefrom, a shaft, a rod mounted in said bracket in line with said shaft and having a horizontal extension, a mechanism mounted on said extension and having a driving connection with said driven shaft, said rod also having a bearing in alinement with said driven shaft for rotation inclependently thereof to change the position of said mechanism, and means for locking said rod in its different adjustments.

7. The combination, with a support, of a driven shaft mounted thereon, a housing carried by said support, an upright rod having a threaded lower end mounted in said housing, a bracket mounted 011 said support and having a bearing for said rod, set screws for normally locking said rod against rotation, an adjusting nut mounted on the lower threaded end of said rod and seated against said housing for raising or lowering said rod in its bearings, a mechanism carried by said rod, and a belt for said mechanism having a driving connection with said shaft, the adjustment of said rod loosening or tightening said belt.

8. The combination, with a support, of a driven shaft mounted thereon, an upright rod mounted to rotate on a vertical axis and having a vertical adjustment, a mechanism carried by said rod, and a driving belt connecting the mechanism with said driven shaft, the vertical adjustment of said rod raising or lowering said mechanism to slacken or tighten said belt.

9. The combination, with a support, of a plate horizontally mounted thereon, an upright driven shaft journaled in said plate and having a beveled gear above said plate, a housing mounted for rotation on said plate above said gear, a shaft horizontally journaled in said housing, a beveled gear and sprocket wheel mounted on said horizontal shaft, said gear meshing with the gear of said driven shaft and having freedom of movement with said housing around said driven shaft, an upright rod mounted in said housing and having a horizontal extension at its upper end, a wringer mechanism mounted on said horizontal extension, and a sprocket chain connecting the rolls of said wringer mechanism with the sprocket wheel of said horizontal shaft, said upright rod having freedom of movement on a vertical axis with said wringer mechanism and said sprocket chain following said housing around said driven shaft with the movement of said rod and said wringer mechanism.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of May, 1917.

ARTHUR O. HUBBARD.

Witnesses:

M. A. HAWKINS, T. M. LYSSERUP. 

